Ski boot having internal binding components

ABSTRACT

Safety release for ski binding for direct engagement between the upper side of a ski and the under side of a boot sole. Generally elongated and substantially rectangularly shaped means are arranged transversely of the ski, are fastened thereto and project upwardly therefrom. Resiliently loaded clamp means are contained within the boot sole within a cavity which also receives said upwardly projecting means when the boot is placed in position of use on the ski. In such position said clamping means engage the upwardly projecting means with a resiliently generated force but are retractable to permit release of the ski when said gripping force or engaging force is overcome. The generally rectangular shape of the upwardly projecting member aids in restoration of the boot to normal operating position after lateral displacement therefrom whenever said lateral displacement is insufficient to effect a complete release.

United States Patent [191 Schweizer et al.

[ SKI BOOT HAVING INTERNAL BINDING COMPONENTS [75] Inventors: Gottfried Schweizer, Vienna;

Thomas Gordon Smolka, Wien-Mauer, both of Austria [73] Assignee: Gertsch AG, Zug, Switzerland Notice: The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to Nov. 20, 1990, has been disclaimed.

[22] Filed: Feb. 7, I972 [21] Appl. No.: 223,867

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 12, 1971 Austria 2138/71 [52] US. Cl.. 280/l1.35 R [51] Int. Cl. A63c 9/08 [58] Field of Search ..280/l1.35 D. 11.35 R, 280/11.35 A, 11.35 C, 11.35 E, 11.35 K

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,676,813 4/1954 Beyl 280/1 1.35 Y 3,359,009 12/1967 I-Iinterholzer.... 280/11.35 K

3,583,719 6/1971 Marker 280/1 1.35 Y

3,618,965 12/1969 Hecker 280/1 1.35 C 3,727,932 4/1973 Druss et a1. 280/1 1.35 K 3,772,802 11/1973 Smolka et al. 280/1 1.35 D X 3,785,668 l/l974 Marker 280/1 1.35 R

[45]*Aug. 12, 1975 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,919,637 10/1970 Germany 1,951,923 4/1971 Germany.... 280/1 1.35 K 268,949 2/1969 Austria 280/11.35 K

[ 57] ABSTRACT Safety release for ski binding for direct engagement between the upper side of a ski and the under side of a boot sole. Generally elongated and substantially rectangularly shaped means are arranged transversely of the ski, are fastened thereto and project upwardly therefrom. Resiliently loaded clamp means are contained within the boot sole within a cavity which also receives said upwardly projecting means when the boot is placed in position of use on the ski. In such position said clamping means engage the upwardly projecting means with a resiliently generated force but are retractable to permit release of the ski when said gripping force or engaging force is overcome. The generally rectangular shape of the upwardly projecting member aids in restoration of the boot to normal operating position after lateral displacement therefrom whenever said lateral displacement is insufficient to effect a complete release.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SKI lBOOT HAVING INTERNAL BINDING COMPONENTS The invention relates to a ski boot which has springloaded locking elements arranged within a suitable cavity in the sole thereof, which locking elements engage locking grooves of a lock carrier. I

A ski boot is already known in which spring-loaded locking elements are arranged inside the sole of the boot. These locking elements project at both the toe and the heel from the sole of the boot and engage locking grooves which are provided on lock carriers arranged on the ski. However, in such an arrangement, at least two carriers are needed, one in front of the boot and one behind the boot. Since the locating thereof is necessarily very precise, same will fit only one size of boot if they are mounted fixedly on the ski, or they must be arranged adjustably.

Furthermore a ski boot is known in which one single lock carrier is provided which has locking grooves and extends into an opening in the sole of the boot. The locking elements and the springs loading the locking elements are in such an arrangement arranged transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski boot. This construction, however, exists only on paper, and cannot be used in practice since insufficient space is available in the transverse direction of the boot sole to receive a spring which is strong enough to meet the requirements of a safe ski binding. Extensions would have to be provided laterally on the sole into which the springs could be received. This, however, is practically impossible since extensions to the side would not only interfere during skiing but also could be damaged. Furthermore, such extensions would increase the danger of injury. The lock carrier in such a device has a substantially round cross section with locking grooves. If the ski boot rotates relative to the ski and the locking elements are moved out of the locking grooves and no force acts upwardly, the boot stops at some angle to the ski and neither a release nor a return into the central position takes place.

The purpose of the invention is to avoid these disadvantages and the invention is characterized in that the lock carrier has an approximately square, preferably approximately rectangular cross section and the springs which act on the locking elements are positioned in the longitudinal direction of the ski boot. By such construction, the entire length of the ski shoe is available to receive the locking elements and the springs and when the ski boot rotates relative to the ski, either a release or a return into the central position is assured. It is thus practically no longer possible for the ski boot to remain in a twisted position relative to the ski.

The subject matter of the invention is illustrated by one exemplary embodiment in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic illustration of a ski boot which is constructed according to the invention in position of use on the ski.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are associated views of the mechanism embodying the invention in an enlarged scale, FIG. 2 being a section on line II-II of FIG. 3 and FIG. 3 being a section on line III-III of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, however, in a tilted position.

FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 3 of the lock carrier which is mounted to the ski.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a release mechanism which can be operated manually.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section taken on line VIII- VIII of FIG. 5.

As appearing in FIG. 1, the lock carrier 1 is secured on the ski 2. The locking elements 3 are urged against the lock carrier 1 by springs 4 which are supported on the eccentric cam 5. The parts 3, 4 and 5 are provided inside a housing 6 which is secured in the sole 7 of the ski boot 8. In the present exemplary embodiment, the ski boot with its sole 7 is not directly positioned on the ski 2 but it is supported on disks 9 arranged on the ski. In case of a twisting (rotating) release, these disks 9 minimize friction between the boot and the ski. During a forward or backward fall, the boot tips over these disks. The locking grooves 10, 11 of the lock carrier 1, as described further hereinafter, are adjusted to the various release directions and therefore have differently inclined release surfaces.

As can be understood from FIGS. 2 to 4 which are illustrated in an enlarged scale, it is also possible to use cup springs 4' for a better use of the available space. Two rows of cup springs 4' act onto each lockingelement 3. In this way the mechanism will have a minimal vertical dimension and thus the sole of the bootwill not need to be of excessive thickness.

As stated above, the ski boot can tip forwardly or backwardly over the disks 9. During each such release the same lever arm is obtained between the tipping fulcrum and the lock carrier 1 so that the same conditions exist at each such release. However, if a twisting release occurs, the ski boot and thus also the mechanism, is rotated relative to the lock carrier 1, as particularly illustrated in FIG. 4. The locking elements 3 are thus forced out of the locking recesses l0, 11 so that the locking elements 3 now abut the edges of the lock carrier 1. The lock carrier 1 is tapered upwardly and this taper starts at point 12a on the side surfaces thereof, which point 12a is preferably at a height slightly below the locking groove. Accordingly, the locking elements 3 now press onto the side edges which are tapered upwardly so that the boot moves automatically upwardly and is released. If during a twisting movement the locking elements 3 do not disengage from the locking recesses 10, 11, then the parts return into their central position.

The two locking elements 3 are connected to a rotatably supported disk 13 through crank rods 14 in order to manually release the binding. If the operating lever 15 which is illustrated in FIG. 6 is pressed down, namely onto the position as illustrated in FIG. 7, then the two locking elements 3 are moved away from one another. Thus, they no longer engage the locking grooves and the ski boot can be lifted off from the ski.

The invention is not limited to the illustrated exemplary embodiments but instead there are other embodiments which lie within the scope of the invention. For example, in place of the illustrated screw or cup springs, one could also use bump rubbers. Further, it would be possible to load the locking elements hydraulically or pneumatically.

The embodiment of the invention in which exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A releasable ski binding for releasably securing the sole of a ski boot to a ski, comprising:

post means fixedly secured to said ski and extending upwardly therefrom and having means defining a pair of locking recesses thereon each facing in opposite longitudinal directions relative to said ski;

housing means mounted on the sole of said ski boot;

first locking means mounted on said housing means;

second locking means mounted on said housing means and adapted to move longitudinally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said ski boot toward and away from said first locking means, an opening being defined between said first locking means and said second locking means when said first and second locking means are moved away from each other for receiving said post means therein, said first and second locking means both being adapted to engage said post means, while in said opening, in one of said locking recesses; and

resilient means for effecting and urging together of said first and second locking means into engagement with said post means, said first and second locking means being movable out of engagement with said recesses against the force of said resilient means to effect a release of the ski binding whenever said longitudinal axis of said sole of said ski boot is twisted out of parallel relationship with the longitudinal axis of the ski beyond a predetermined angular displacement, said resilient means effecting a restoration of said boot to a normal operating position whenever the twisted angular displacement of said ski boot relative to the ski is less than said predetermined angular displacement.

2. A releasable ski binding according to claim 1, wherein said first locking means includes a first locking element and first support means for supporting said first locking element for movement relative to said housing means and toward and away from one side of said post means in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said ski boot; and

wherein said second locking means includes a second locking element and second support means for supporting said second locking element for movement relative to said housing means and toward and away from the other side of said post means in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said ski boot.

3. A releasable ski binding according to claim 2, wherein a horizontal section through said post means has a rectangular cross section; and

wherein said locking recesses arranged on the opposite longitudinally facing surfaces of said post means are centrally positioned on said oppositely facing surfaces.

4. A releasable ski binding according to claim 3, wherein the plane of said oppositely facing longitudinal surfaces extends transversely of said longitudinal axis of said ski.

5. A releasable ski binding according to claim 2, wherein said first and second locking elements each has a projection thereon adapted to be received in one of said locking recesses, at least one of said projections being removed from a corresponding locking recess during a ski boot releasing operation.

6. A releasable ski binding according to claim 1, wherein said post means includes means defining a tapered upper portion, said tapered upper portion terminating at a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said ski.

7. A releasable ski binding according to claim 6, wherein said tapered upper portion beings at a location at least as low as the lowermost portion of said locking recesses.

8. A releasable ski binding according to claim 1, including manually operable means for manually separating said first and second locking means so that said post means will not be engaged thereby. 

1. A releasable ski binding for releasably securing the sole of a ski boot to a ski, comprising: post means fixedly secured to said ski and extending upwardly therefrom and having means defining a pair of locking recesses thereon each facing in opposite longitudinal directions relative to said ski; housing means mounted on the sole of said ski boot; first locking means mounted on said housing means; second locking means mounted on said housing means and adapted to move longitudinally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said ski boot toward and away from said first locking means, an opening being defined between said first locking means and said second locking means when said first and second locking means are moved away from each other for receiving said post means therein, said first and second locking means both being adapted to engage said post means, while in said opening, in one of said locking recesses; and resilient means for effecting and urging together of said first and second locking means into engagement with said post means, said first and second locking means being movable out of engagement with said recesses against the force of said resilient means to effect a release of the ski binding whenever said longitudinal axis of said sole of said ski boot is twisted out of parallel relationship with the longitudinal axis of the ski beyond a predetermined angular displacement, said resilient means effecting a restoration of said boot to a normal operating position whenever the twisted angular displacement of said ski boot relative to the ski is less than said predetermined angular displacement.
 2. A releasable ski binding according to claim 1, wherein said first locking means includes a first locking element and first support means for supporting said first locking element for movement relative to said housing means and toward and away from one side of said post means in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said ski boot; and wherein said second locking means includes a second locking element and second support means for supporting said second locking element for movement relative to said housing means and toward and away from the other side of said post means in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said ski boot.
 3. A releasable ski binding according to claim 2, wherein a horizontal section through said post means has a rectangular cross section; and wherein said locking recesses arranged on the opposite longitudinally facing surfaces of said post means are centrally positioned on said oppositely facing surfaces.
 4. A releasable ski binding according to claim 3, wherein the plane of said oppositely facing longitudinal surfaces extends transversely of said longitudinal axis of said ski.
 5. A releasable ski binding according to claim 2, wherein said first and second locking elements each has a projection thereon adapted to be received in one of said locking recesses, at least one of said projections being removed from a corresponding locking recess during a ski boot releasing operation.
 6. A releasable ski binding according to claim 1, wherein said post means includes means defining a tapered upper portion, said tapered upper portion terminating at a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said ski.
 7. A releasable ski binding according to claim 6, wherein said tapered upper portion beings at a location at least as low as the lowermost portion of said locking recesses.
 8. A releasable ski binding according to claim 1, including manually operable means for manually separating said first and sEcond locking means so that said post means will not be engaged thereby. 